Fastening Hinges To A Sheet Metal Storm Door: How Please ?

Jun 08, 2019 8 Replies
R

Hello,



Having a real problem with this, and would appreciate any thoughts on:



Have a metal storm door; the typical kind of thing.



Sheet metal frame, probably a thickness of between



1/64to pposibly 1/32.

Pretty old, and was stupidly constructed with sheet metal screws holding on the hinges. Of course, as expected, they have all pulled out by now.



Thought I'd use Molly, but now realize that no small diameter Molly would clamp (internally) to sheet metal of only .025 or so.



But I may have missed.



Are there Mollys, or something equivalent, that would fasten/lock internally to something this thin ?



I can't get inside the door frame; any scheme would have to work from the outside. Assume the maximum diameter of whatever fastener I end up with would probably be limited to 1/4 inch or so.



Any thoughts on how to re-fasten hinges to the metal storm door ?



Thanks, appreciate the help, Bob


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T

And if that's not enough, maybe a flat metal plate on the other side and bolt all the way through? N?ot sure how that plays with what the door closes against though. Also epoxy under the hinges before screwing fast would help.

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M

Yes, bigger screws. If perchance there isn't room for the biggger heads of bigger screws, grind the heads of the new screws smaller, to the same diameter as the old screws if need be. A good excuse to buy a grnder. Dip the screw in water periodically so it doesn't get too hot.

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G

Just move the hinges up or down a half inch to get a new spot. The holes will be in the jamb so you won't really see them and 3 of the 4 will still be covered by the hinge. They also sell replacement hinges that have longer butts on them with holes in a different place. Down here is "screen cage land" this is not an unusual problem.

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D

Seems like the simplest solution.

In addition, the larger screws may not fit in the hinges. Drill the hinge holes larger if needed.

There are all kinds of solutions, some involve welding. Start with the simplest solution.

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